"P52-Collections"

This is a collection of the most awesome Mellophone players in the state.  Three is a collection, right?  2/3's of this collection belong to my family : )  Fall is such a great time during the year, so much fun so many football games and my favorite, band competitions.  Happy Fall!

"P52 - Bird or Flying"

My interpretation of the theme this week is bit different.  I chose to "fly" down the road on the back of a motorcycle.  This picture was taken this morning with my iPhone 4s (not springing for a new 5)  This weekend has been absolutely beautiful so we took advantage of the weather and took off for a ride.  As you can see we were really flying too fast because we were on a small country road.

"Edit Me Challenge - Ferris Wheel"

After

Before

The Edit Me Challenge this week is from Sarah's Camera.  She submitted a cool ferris wheel picture for us to edit.  I chose to make a sunrise/sunset feeling for the photo.  I started by adjusting the levels on the photo, and sharpening.  I then did a color balance layer and played with the sliders for each option until I had the color effect I wanted.  This reminded me of a time we were riding the ferris wheel at dusk, with the cooler air hitting us as we enjoyed our ride.

"Edit Me Challenge - Beach Sunset"

After

The picture for this week is from Stephanie of Behind the Camera and Dreaming.  The beachy sunset was already so pretty it was hard to decide what to do.  I decided that I wanted a panoramic feel with dramatic colors in the sky.  I first cropped to get a more panoramic feel, with a long width and a short height.  Next I sharpened and adjusted the levels.  Finally, I added a warmth layer and changed it to multiply at 100%.  I finally played around with the curves a bit on the warmth layer until I got just the right richness in the blue and oranges.  I would love to visit this beach at sunset.

Before

"P52-First Day of School"

First Day of School 2012

First Day of School 2012

First Day of School 2009

 The First Day of School is always bittersweet.  It's always nice to see the kiddos growing up and becoming more responsible but it's sad to see the kiddos growing up.  Pictured here are a fresh new 3rd grader, Junior in high school, and 8th Grader *sigh*.  Yes, Mr. Mann is not wearing shoes and has crazy tan lines on his feet from band camp.  He never has his shoes on when he gets ready and is always running out the door to catch the bus with his shoes in his hands. We have been in school now for four weeks and when most people are starting school we are getting progress reports.  As you can see when we get up and get ready it is still o'dark thirty.  Below is a picture of the kids when KK was starting 5th grade, Itty Bitty was a new Kindergartner, and Mr. Mann was in the 8th grade.  Wow time flies.  Not technically a great photo but great for memories sake. This first day of school photo is a tradition in our family.  I hope everyone else has/had a great first day of school.

"Back to School-Project MCP"

Back to school time is always a sad time around our house.  We always have so much fun during the summer and it's hard to let go.  Once we do get back into the swing of things we look forward to football games and band competitions.  In my picture I choose to show a big line of library books in perfect order ready to go back on the shelf and get checked out to read.  I attempted to focus on the book Wayside School is Falling Down.  LOL